People traveling in unfamiliar cities or towns frequently desire location-based information. For example, a person traveling in a vehicle on an interstate in an unfamiliar area may desire to receive information about local places of interest such as the nearest restaurants, hotels, gas stations, etc., or directions on how to get to local places of interest. Billboards and local radio stations may provide some of this information. However, billboards and local radio stations do not allow a person to choose what information is received, or when the information is received. Another option available to a traveler is to use a local phone book to obtain local information. However, this requires the traveler to exit off the interstate and find a phone book.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of people have access to cellular phones. Cellular phone networks, which include personal communication system ("PCS") networks and other mobile phone networks, provide access to telephone networks over virtually the entire industrialized world. Therefore, many people that travel to unfamiliar towns and cities take a cellular phone with them. The cellular phone can be used is to contact an operator who can provide some local information including phone numbers of places of interest, but the traveler must usually know in advance the names of the places of interest.
Based on the foregoing, it would be desirable to have a cellular phone network that provides location-based information in an easy to use manner to users of cellular phones.